An astute observer of religion has to pay attention to the current situation of Christianity and Islam, in all its forms. One person to listen to is Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir, a Cairo born Islamic scholar and Catholic theologian teaching at Saint Joseph’s University, Beruit; Father Samir is well-published and well-sought after for counsel on Christian-Muslim matters.

Today at Asia News, Father Samir has a keenly written article on Islam and Christianity as we know it right now. Really, you need to

Almighty, eternal God, You raised up among the people of England and Wales the holy martyrs Edmund, Robert and their companions, and willed that they should imitate Christ, who died to redeem the world. Grant that, by their intercession, Your people may be strengthened by the same faith and love and always rejoice

Pope Benedict has asked us to pray for these two intentions for the month of December. So, our prayer is united with his before the Divine Majesty asking that His Will be done and for these two points of intercession.

The general intention

That children may be respected, loved, and never exploited.

The missionary intention

That during Christmas the peoples of the earth may recognize the Incarnate Word as

“Freedom is to acknowledge that God is all…. It is complete self-fulfillment … the possibility to reach and confront one’s destiny” (Giussani). Pope John Paul II reminded us that “communion with the crucified and risen Lord is the never-ending source from which the Church draws unceasingly in order to live in freedom.” Freedom means adhering to the risen Lord with the full force of our full-blown faith. As Cardinal Christoph Schönborn writes, “To

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement, and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.